The night that created the Chosen One
by dauntIess
Summary: The night Lily and James Potter were brutally murdered, James wonders how he got so lucky, having a son and the woman he loves.


James picked his son up and spun around, him laughing with joy while his son shrieked with delight. Lily took a picture of them, which he knew would later go into the family album that they had been compiling.  
He put his one year old son down and looked at the sight before him. He had never been this content since he found out about the prophecy. All he had felt since then was worry and more worry and despair about how he might not be able to keep the two people he loved the most, alive and safe. Although the Fidelius charm had lessened his worry some, he wished he could have made Sirius the secret keeper. Not because he didn't trust Peter, of course not, but just because Sirius was-and had always-been closer to James. James would have felt better making Sirius the secret keeper, but Peter was the bluff and no one would suspect Peter.  
And James was happy and he felt as if all his worries had disappeared, all at once. Probably the Halloween spirit. He watched Harry get on his toy broomstick and zoom around the house again and watched Lily chase him, anxiously making sure he didn't break anything.

He was going to be a Chaser one day, just like his dad. Or maybe a Seeker. Or maybe a Keeper. Whatever, but his son was going to be in the Quidditch team-Gryffindor mind you-just like his father.  
Eventually, Lily caught Harry and James smiled sleepily at them. This was his family, and he couldn't believe that the girl he had fallen for as soon as he saw her, was his now. Finally his. She had rejected his advances at first, but then James really began trying. And now he was with her, the very same girl, and their adorable one year old son. He adjusted his glasses and joined Lily and Harry on the floor, where Lily was conjuring small bubbles with her wand and Harry was popping each of them, giving a little shriek everytime one of them burst at the slightest touch from his tiny fingers. He ruffled his hair, an old habit and adjusted his glasses. He popped a bubble and was given the reward of a high pitched peal of laughter coming from Harry.  
He had never felt this secure.

"Harry come on, its bedtime!"  
"Aw Lilypad, come on just a few more minutes, he's having so much fun" James whined, wanting to keep the baby around longer.  
Lily sighed and said "Fine, but just a few minutes, he needs his sleep"  
James winked and grinned down at Harry. Lily got up and smiled down at the two boys who made her life worth living. James stood up too, walked towards her and swung her around, kissing her.  
"We survived another day" he whispered.  
"Oh, stop talking like that, we'll be fine James, we always are"  
"But this time he's specifically looking for us... I don't know how long I-we-can stay in this place. It's driving me crazy, not going out anymore"  
"It's hard for me too, but we have to, for his safety"  
"Yeah well...I'll go down fighting"  
Lily laughed and said  
"You will hopefully, not 'go down' at all"  
She was so beaut-what was that? Was that the sound of footsteps making their way across their yard, crunching the dried autumn leaves with every step?  
Was that the rustle of a cloak as it dragged behind the one person that made all this protection necessary?  
No. Of course not, he was just being paranoid. He wasn't used to feeling safe, and now that he did for once, his senses were on high alert. He ruffled his hair, making it messier and causing Lily to sigh exasperatedly. He grinned at her, threw his wand on the floor and lay down on the couch. Time for a short nap.  
He barely saw it coming. What saved Lily and Harry for the short time that it did, was James' heightened sense of danger, reaching its peak right before the door exploded.

The door blew open, coming off its hinges and exploding into the living room. Lily screamed and grabbed Harry, who had looked at the door in shock.  
James jumped up to his feet, faster than he thought possible and ran toward the door. He knew who it was without even looking at the face. Shit.  
James didn't even have time to grab for his wand. He was a dead man even before the killing curse struck him.  
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off" He would definitely die, but he'd be damned to Hell for all eternity, rather than doom his wife and son to the same fate.  
He saw a hooded and cloaked man-if that-walk into their living room.  
"Please not the-"  
A sinister smile grew on the intruder's face, as James begged him to spare his family and that was when James Potter knew for certain he was a dead man.  
A flick of Voldemort's wand. A flash of green light. And James Potter, the man who had only minutes before been laughing at his son and joking about how they had survived another day, the man who looked at his wife and hardly believed that she was his, the man who would go to any lengths to save his family, was unmade.

Lily Potter ran up the stairs frantically, getting to Harry's room, locking the door behind her although she knew it would do less than nothing to protect her from that-that monsters power and put Harry in his cot.  
She had heard the muffled thud of her husbands body hit the carpet, but didn't dare to look back. She felt a loss and grief so unimaginable she had to clutch her chest, as if physically holding it in would help. But she had more to worry about. She had to save Harry.  
The house was silent. Too silent. She bent down to where Harry's face stared at her questioningly between the bars of his cot.  
"Mummy loves you, Harry and so does Daddy and oh, Daddy and Mummy will be so proud of you one day, we love you so much, Harry, don't forget that" Lily whispered, barely holding back her tears. She knew what she would have to do. She stood in front of Harry's cot, holding her breath and waiting for Voldemort to come.

There was a loud blast and the door swung weakly on its hinges. It was time.  
Lily kissed Harry's forehead and turned around to face her death.  
Voldemort was pointing his wand at her lazily, and he had a smile on his face. Lily felt as though she could have escaped, but she knew that with one twitch of his hand, she would be gone.  
Lily threw her arms out, shielding Harry from Voldemort's gaze. She was desperate and it showed in her voice, in the way she pleaded with the merciless murderer who had taken thousands of lives and, she knew, would soon take hers.  
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"  
"Stand aside you silly girl…stand aside now."  
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead"  
"Not Harry! Please...have mercy…have mercy... "  
Voldemort's smile widened at her begging and his hand twitched, and as if it was synchronized in advance, at the same time Lily Potter fell to the floor, as lifeless and useless as one of Harry's muggle 'action figures'.  
Harry cooed and reached out toward Voldemort, thinking it was his Daddy and Mummy would pop up, laughing and creating more bubbles.  
Voldemort stared at the baby, an expression of disgust on his less than human face.  
He let out a cold laugh and Harry, realizing it was not his Daddy, began to cry.  
Voldemort's laugh went higher and another flash of green light illuminated the nursery, casting a ghostly green shadow on Harry's face and Lily's body on the floor and after that, all that was heard was the scream of something less than a man, and after that, silence. And there was silence, except for the muffled crying of an innocent baby, whose forehead burned with the mark left by the demon of a man.

Voldemort was reduced to less than nothing that night, and it was all because of a mother's love and a child's innocence.


End file.
